5 suggestions for giving your brain a break

As the end of the summer approaches with the new school year, make sure to give your brain a break. “Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,” essayist Tim Kreider wrote in The New York Times (June 6, 2013). The two big “why’s” for this are giving your brain a chance adapt by rewiring new neurons, and to sort through all the information coming at it all the time.

Neuroplasticity, or the ability of your brain to change, helps to allow the two halves of our brains to work together and to absorb all that information when you stop trying to hold everything in it all at once.   It turns out that we learn better when we space the learning out over time instead of trying to cram it in all at once.

So here are five suggestions for giving your brain a break now:

1. Do something physical, or “step away from the computer.” A short walk in nature can be particularly helpful. But if you can’t do that, just standing up and stretching in place is a brain break.

2. Do something you love, whether it’s playing a quick video game or catching up on Facebook friend news. Those hard-driving innovative computer companies are onto something with games readily available to employees.

3. Sleep. Naps are especially good in the summertime if you can steal some late afternoon time when it’s hot, and you can sleep for 10-20 minutes. There is some evidence to suggest that neurons can get fatigued just like muscles and this is helpful to recharge them.

4. Mind-wander. Just like it sounds. Let your mind wander wherever it wants to go: whether that’s Hawaii, Mars or home to loved ones. Sometimes called daydreaming. This, like sleeping, may actually help memory and cognition, by allowing us to leave the present moment to engage with the past or future possibilities.

5. Engage with an animal. There is ample evidence to suggest that just sitting with a domesticated cat or dog can calm down the active, or overly anxious, areas of the brain.   It may boost your immune system, too.

It appears the brain requires more downtime than is generally recognized to let it actually work hard and generate creative ideas. So, taking my own advice, I am giving myself a break and cutting the newsletter short this time!

Tags: attitude, brain, brain break, change, dream, neuroplasticity, productivity